It felt as if my throat was being choked and twisted by something.

Yes, this is the kind of person Aspeiran is. Once he lets someone into his circle, he will go to any lengths to protect them, even if it means losing his own limbs.

His circle had long contained the Roakins, and thus he became their monarch.

I liked that Aspeiran.

“…I gratefully accept this identity tag.”

No matter what happens, Aspeiran will protect me within his circle.

From now on, I won’t have to worry about being cast out for harming As. Instead, I’ll have to grow and become stronger as soon as possible, so that if I see anyone trying to attack As, I can stab them all.

I sniffled but grinned.

“You know, one day I suddenly fell into an unfamiliar place and it was scary and hard. Maybe I could have just sat down and cried.”

“I see.”

“But here, I have you, my lord. Thanks to you, I was able to get up and run again.”

It’s only been two months since I gained a new life after dying. Thoughts of my family kept popping up out of nowhere.

Though not to the point of going mad with grief, as if some defense mechanism had been triggered without my knowledge, there were still times when I was overcome with melancholy and my body drooped.

Every time that happened, I thought of Aspeiran. I originally liked him, but after actually meeting him, I grew to like him even more, my favorite person.

There was something I had to do for him. Something I had to accomplish in order to continue being with these kind people.

All those facts made me stand up again.

Since you’ve been my support, I’ll become your sturdy pillar.

‘I’ll even get you married.’

That way, I can throw away your lonely single ending far away…

Although I made several resolutions in my heart, I simply declared,

“I will definitely become the most capable subordinate!”

“…I see. Work hard.”

A hint of reluctance flashed across Aspeiran’s face for a brief moment. Did I say something wrong?

I wanted to ask what was wrong, but he seemed to be in deep thought so I couldn’t bring myself to speak.

Meanwhile, the food ordered by the messenger arrived. Only then did Aspeiran snap out of his thoughts and nod.

“Eat.”

“Thank you for the meal!”

I took a big bite of the thick salmon sandwich. As soon as the sandwich with its perfectly combined ingredients softly touched my tongue, I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“It’s so delicious!”

Especially the thickly sliced raw salmon was exquisite. It was so fresh without any fishy smell, as if it would swim away if released into the river.

I took a few more bites and asked, swinging my legs under the table,

“Is this a restaurant you like, my lord?”

“I come here often when out incognito. It’s the best among the restaurants Kiara recommended.”

Aspeiran answered, pushing the sandwich plate towards me.

A restaurant recommended by Kiara. Could it be that Kiara’s hobby is exploring good restaurants?

‘I should ask Kiara for restaurant recommendations later.’

Or we could go exploring together.

Kiara is strong and reliable, so Aspeiran will surely allow it.

Feeling good, I looked up at the sky. Bright sunlight pouring down from the high ceiling, vividly shining green trees.

The leaf shadows falling over me were refreshing.

“I can’t remember the last time I saw green leaves. Is the commercial district always like this in the summer?”

“It changes from time to time. From March to May, it’s filled with flowers for the spring flower festival, and from September, there’s the autumn foliage festival.”

“Wow! I want to see the autumn foliage festival too. You know, I especially love yellow autumn leaves.”

My name from my previous life, ‘Jin-Noran’, was given to me by my parents after seeing the yellow autumn leaves that filled the view outside the window on the day I was born.

My younger sibling Yeondoo often complained that our parents’ naming sense was too much, but I liked my name. Honestly, isn’t it good to be unique?

‘And I like the name As gave me too.’

Maybe it’s thanks to this name ‘Shuria’ that I was able to adapt better to my new life…

Chuckling, I crunched on an apple from the salad. The weather is nice, the food is delicious, and I feel at ease. Just perfect.

“But you know,”

Aspeiran, who had been drinking tea across from me, suddenly spoke up while I was diligently filling my stomach. He tapped the table with his finger.

“There’s something I’m curious about too.”

“Please ask!”

“Why are you giving Rumel a cloak as a gift?”

Huh? I thought Aspeiran would naturally know.

“Remember when I ruined Rumel’s cloak before? That’s why I wanted to give him one as a gift.”

“If you had told me, I would have taken care of it.”

“It was my mistake. I should fix it. Plus, I’ve received a lot of help from Rumel too. And you know, it’s customary to treat someone you’re grateful to with your first paycheck.”

Like buying red long underwear for your parents, something like that.

Aspeiran’s brows narrowed.

“It seems Rumel was the person you were most grateful to.”

“I’m indebted to him in many ways!”

“…”

Aspeiran started drinking his tea again. What’s this? He looks strangely displeased.

I finished the last piece of celery, glancing at As.

Aspeiran put down his teacup with a clink.

“If you’re done eating, let’s go back.”

“To the castle?”

“Aren’t you done with your errands?”

“No… If you have time, my lord, I was planning to buy gifts for the others too. There are many people I’m grateful to besides Rumel.”

Aspeiran raised his left eyebrow. He let out a small “Hmm” and gestured to me.

“Let’s go. Do as you wish.”

After that, I walked around the shopping district with Aspeiran, buying this and that.

A purple fountain pen that suits Kiara well, a gold-plated bookmark with a green leaf decoration for Rumel, a red sword ornament symbolizing peace that’s perfect for Sir Canis, and even boxes of snacks to share with the knights.

I thought I had bought everything I planned to buy, so I told As that we should head back, but he frowned.

“Are you sure you bought everything?”

Did I miss something? Ah, come to think of it, I didn’t buy a gift for Ms. Christa.

I picked out an elegant hairpin and looked at Aspeiran. His expression was still not good.

So I bought a meat set to give to the head maid, and his expression remained the same, so this time I bought some sweets to throw to the researchers…

Finally, by the time I even bought a gift for myself who had worked hard, Aspeiran said with a cloudy face,

“Enough, let’s go back.”

Well, you don’t seem to want to go back that much.

But I followed quietly. After retrieving the horses and luggage we had left at the storage near Entrance 7, we headed straight back to Beloi Castle.

As soon as we arrived near the stable, I turned to Aspeiran and bowed politely.

“Thank you for making time for me today. Now, please go inside quickly.”

“Wait. There’s still something on the schedule.”

“Yes?”

“Follow me.”

Leaving me puzzled behind, Aspeiran strode away. His destination was the fir forest behind Kronen Palace.

“What are we doing here… Huh?”

The moment I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and finally voiced my question, a wide open space the size of the Royal Guard’s training ground appeared before my eyes.

And in the center of it was a cute little red sleigh.

I widened my eyes and stared at Aspeiran. He cleared his throat softly and led me to the sleigh.

“You said you wanted to ride a dog sled. I can’t allow you to go to the commercial district by dog sled as it’s dangerous, but instead, I’ll teach you how to ride a dog sled here.”

“…”

“The moonlight wolves will eventually pull cargo sleds when they become adults anyway, so it’s a good idea to start training them now.”

“Uh…”

I couldn’t say anything and carefully stroked the sleigh. A cute single-person sleigh with a majestic wolf carving.

Aspeiran cleared his throat again and asked,

“Do you like it?”

Do I like it?

I whipped my head towards Aspeiran. Surprisingly, a faint tension was evident on his face.

“…Ahaha!”

In the end, laughter burst out of my mouth.

My goodness, tension. Even after preparing such a wonderful gift!

‘Just like my favorite person in the world, the cutest and kindest!’

I laughed holding my stomach for a while, then jumped up and shouted,

“It’s the best gift ever!”

“…Really?”

“But it’s a bit disappointing.”

At my added words, Aspeiran’s face crumpled. So as not to prolong his confusion, I quickly continued,

“To have the initiative taken away like this. Actually, I had also prepared a surprise gift for you, my lord.”

“A surprise gift?”

I chuckled and took out something I had secretly hidden in my bag.

It was a luxurious green tea caddy.

“It’s called leaf tea. They said it’s good for relieving stress, calming the mind and body, and promoting deep sleep.”

I pretended not to know, but I had actually noticed. As was a little upset that I didn’t buy a gift for himself.

‘But I had already picked out a gift for As long ago.’

I was going to give it to him as a surprise when we returned to the castle, but I didn’t expect As to have prepared a gift too.

I held out the tea caddy to Aspeiran. He accepted the gift with a rare dazed expression.

I put my hands on my hips and vowed confidently,

“Whenever you’re tired, my lord, just call me and I’ll come running to brew tea for you. Call me anytime!”

Aspeiran gazed at me quietly. Somehow, his blue eyes seemed to tremble faintly.

Soon, he smiled slightly.

“I look forward to it.”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. In that sense, shall we have a taste today? Let’s have dinner together.”

“Sounds good! But before that, I need to go to the head maid first.”

“I see. Alright, let’s go.”

We walked side by side towards the stable, planning for the upcoming dog sled lessons.

A perfect day that no one could dare deny was coming to an end like this.

…At least that’s what I thought then.

A week later, an enormous amount of gift boxes arrived at the stable.

“The delivered items are twelve pairs of gloves and fifteen scarves. Eight shawls and seven hats. And…”

The attendant who brought the boxes recited the list. I kept hiccuping.

“I, hic! I didn’t, hic! order this, hic! Did I? Hic!”

“They were sent by His Majesty. Here, there’s also a card.”

I immediately unfolded the card. It read on the luxurious paper,

“I bought these as a celebration of your first visit to the commercial district. Take them, there should be at least one you like among them.”

This is crazy. Don’t act like the wealthy northern grand duke, Aspeiran!

I absolutely didn’t want to accept them, but I couldn’t refuse the bestowal carefully considered by His Majesty.

“Aaah! Your Majestyyyyy!”

I wailed alone in front of the mountain of gift boxes that definitely wouldn’t fit in my room.

Thus, my first outing truly came to an end, along with His Majesty’s insane flex.